King David wanted to build a house for You.
“And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation of it. So David prepared abundantly before his death” (1 Chr 22:5).
“Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto?
And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?
And what can David say more unto thee? For thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.
For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Sam 7:18-22).
So why would anyone want to rebuild Noah’s Ark or a house for You, it’s not like You need it. They do it to show their love and appreciation of Jesus Christ. David had even danced for You.
“And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod” (2 Sam 6:14).
Some people think that there is nothing on earth that we can give You, everything already belongs to You and there’s nothing we can make for Yuu.
Yet, there is one thing that I know You don’t have and You want. But You won’t take it, it has to be given to You.
You want our time and heart.
When you give a child a present they are overwhelmed with joy and they smile from ear to ear. When someone gives their heart to Jesus that is the same smile that You and the angles have (Lk 15:10).
The things that archaeologists find is amazing, tomorrow we’ll look at…
John 13
Washing the Disciples’ Feet
Many Anglican churches celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (or the Proper Liturgy of Maundy Thursday). Depending on the jurisdiction, these rites are found in the Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Missal or an alternative service book.
The Mass stresses three aspects of that event: “the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and the commandment of brotherly love that Jesus gave after washing the feet of his disciples.”
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
“Supper” – some believe that this feast was a fellowship meal eaten sometime before the Passover Feast. This would mean that the Last Supper could not have been the Passover meal as the Synoptic Gospels clearly indicate.
However, this meal may have been the Passover Feast itself, in which case the accounts of the Synoptics and John would agree.
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
“Began to wash the disciples’ feet” – a menial task normally performed by a servant. On this occasion there was no servant and no one else volunteered. Jesus’ action was during the meal, not upon arrival, done deliberately to emphasize a point.
It was a lesson in humility, but it also set forth the principle of selfless service that was so soon to be exemplified in the cross.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Maundy (from Latin Mandatum), or Washing of the Feet, is a religious rite observed as an ordinance by several Christian denominations. Jn 13:1–17 mentions Jesus performing this act.
“Never” – characteristically, Peter objected, though apparently no one else did. He was a mixture of humility (he did not want Jesus to perform this lowly service for him) and pride (he tried to dictate to Jesus).
“If I wash thee not” – Jesus’ reply looks beyond the incident to what it symbolizes: Peter needed a spiritual cleansing. The external washing was a picture of cleansing from sin, which Christians also sometimes need.
Jesus showed His disciples His love for them, as like when we are baptized in front of others, shows our love for Jesus. Yet, it shows more than just love, it shows that you have no fear in humiliating yourself for the Lord.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
13:14-15 – Some Christians believe that Christ intended to institute a foot-washing ordinance to be practiced regularly. Most Christians interpret Christ’s action here as providing an example of humble service.
I am of the latter purpose. God would rather us go and do volunteer work to help the poor, rather than to open up a shop where people can get their feet washed.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches practice the ritual of the Washing of Feet on Holy and Great Thursday (Maundy Thursday) according to their ancient rites. The service may be performed either by a bishop, washing the feet of twelve priests; or by an Hegumen (Abbot) washing the feet of twelve members of the brotherhood of his monastery. The ceremony takes place at the end of the Divine Liturgy.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
Foot washing rites are also practiced by many Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist churches, whereby foot washing is most often experienced in connection with Maundy Thursday services and, sometimes, at ordination services where the Bishop may wash the feet of those who are to be ordained.
Though history shows that foot washing has at times been practiced in connection with baptism, and at times as a separate occasion, by far its most common practice has been in connection with the Lord’s supper service. The Moravian Church practiced Foot Washing until 1818.
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
“A new commandment” – in a sense it was an old one (Lev 19:18), but for Christ’s disciples it was new because it was the mark of their brotherhood, created by Christ’s great love for them.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
Scale Model of Noah’s Ark
Just as the first storms of winter roll in, Dutchman Johan Huibers has finished his 20-year quest to build a full-scale, functioning model of Noah’s Ark — an undertaking of, well, biblical proportions.
Huibers, a Christian, used books 6-9 of Genesis as his inspiration, following the instructions God gives Noah down to the last cubit.
Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 427 feet (130 meters) long, 95 feet (29 meters) across and 75 feet (23 meters) high.
Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth, two by two, as described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair of elephants to dance a tango.
Johan’s Ark towers across the flat Dutch landscape and is easily visible from a nearby highway where it lies moored in the city of Dordrecht, just south of Rotterdam. 
Gazing across the Ark’s main hold, a huge space of stalls supported by a forest of pine trees, visitors gaze upon an array of stuffed and plastic animals, such as buffalo, zebra, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears, you name it.
Elsewhere on the ark is a petting zoo with actual live animals that are less dangerous or easier to care for — such as ponies, dogs, sheep, and rabbits — and an impressive aviary of exotic birds.
“This boat — it’s amazing,” said Alfred Jongile, visiting from South Africa with his Dutch wife.
For Huibers, a builder by trade, it all began with a nightmare he had in 1992, when the low-lying Netherlands was flooded, as it has been many times throughout its history.
Huibers thinks that new floods are possible, not least due to global warming. He cites a New Testament passage prophesying that “the cities of the coast shall tremble” near the end of times.
But he’s not worried the whole Earth will ever be flooded again. In the Bible, the rainbow is God’s promise it won’t be.
“I had a call from American television,” he says, laughing. “This has nothing to do with the end of the Mayan calendar,” he said.
He said his motivation is ultimately religious, though. He wants to make people think what their purpose is on Earth.
“I want to make people question that so that they go looking for answers,” and ultimately find salvation through God and eternal life, he said.
Johan’s Ark also contains a restaurant on the topmost level and a movie theater capable of seating 50 people.
Around the edges of each level of the craft are displays on ancient Middle Eastern history and dress, scenes from the life of Noah, and games for kids, including water pumps and a system of levers to lift bales of hay.
Down below there is a honeycomb system of hatches, each opening into an area where food could be sealed in for long-term storage.
There is an outdoor space near the stern with a dizzying series of stairwells.
Walking around, Johan points out features such as the curvature of the upper deck, which he said would have been used to collect rainwater for drinking, as well as for letting animals such as horses out to exercise where they could run around.
Another visitor, Martin Konijn, said he was impressed with the level of detail.
“You might know the story of Noah, okay, but if you see this you begin to get an idea of how it would actually have worked in practice.”
Huibers says he’s considering where to take the floating attraction next, including European ports or even across the Atlantic — though the latter would require transport aboard an even bigger ship.
But Huibers is also working on a new dream, perhaps even more unlikely than the first one: he wants to get Israelis and Arabs to cooperate and build a water pipeline from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea.
“If you have faith, anything is possible,” he says.
…the roots of the Bible.
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